[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 47 (Monday, April 15, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S3322]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RABBI MORRIS S. FRIEDMAN PLANS JUNE RETIREMENT AFTER 46 YEARS IN THE 
                               RABBINATE

 Mr. D'AMATO. Mr. President, I rise to honor Rabbi Morris S. 
Friedman of Temple Hillel in North Woodmere, NY, on his retirement 
after so many years of dedicated service.
  In October 1984, Rabbi Friedman welcomed then-President Ronald Reagan 
to his synagogue, Temple Hillel in North Woodmere, where the President 
spoke to a packed congregation. Afterwards, Rabbi Friedman hosted the 
President at his home for lunch. Together they sat, with the rabbi's 
wife and children, as well as Secretary of State James Baker and 
myself.
  The visit by President Reagan to Rabbi Friedman's temple and home was 
testimony to the influence and cachet of Rabbi Friedman himself, and to 
the enormous prestige that Temple Hillel amassed over the 33 years of 
Rabbi Friedman's leadership. It may have been the first time that a 
sitting President lunched at the home of a rabbi; but it was not the 
first time that Rabbi Friedman held conversations with world leaders. 
From his corner of the world in North Woodmere, Rabbi Friedman has 
influenced many thousands of lives, those on the world stage and those 
presiding over the births and deaths and joys and sorrows of a 
congregation that each year tops 1,000 people.
  In June of this year, Rabbi Friedman will retire from the pulpit at 
Temple Hillel.
  ``One of my favorite books in the Bible,'' said Rabbi Friedman when 
he announced his retirement, ``is the Book of Ecclesiastes. The third 
chapter begins with a statement, `A season is set for everything, a 
time for every experience under Heaven.' ''
  His congregation will honor and pay tribute to him, and to his wife, 
Mrs. Adelaide Friedman, at a dinner on April 21. ``My years at Hillel 
are truly a love affair between me and the congregation. The 
friendship, affection and devotion showered upon me and Addi by the 
congregation, made my service to the community a privilege, a joy and 
an exciting spiritual adventure,'' said Rabbi Friedman, looking back at 
a 33-year relationship.
  It will be one of a long line of testimonial dinners made in his 
honor, because Rabbi Friedman's dedication to Jewish causes reached far 
and wide beyond his own temple. He has been honored by Boy's Town in 
Jerusalem; by Bet El, a 13-year-old-settlement in Judea Samaria in 
Israel; by Touro College's School of Health Sciences, among others.
  He has received numerous awards and much recognition, such as the 
Zedakah Award from the UJA Federation of Jewish Philanthropies in New 
York, and the degree of honorary fellow conferred upon him by Bar Ilan 
University in Israel. The Jewish Theological Seminary of America 
conferred upon him an honorary doctor of divinity degree in 1975.
  His stature in the Jewish community led him to his former, very 
prestigious, role as the president of the New York Board of Rabbis, the 
largest rabbinic organization in the world. He was also chairman of the 
United Jewish Appeal-Federation Rabbinic Advisory Council. He served 
for 2 years, as well, as chairman of the Rabbinical Assembly Campaign 
for the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. For the past 5 years, 
he has cochaired the Annual Nassau County Dinner for the Shaare-Zedek 
Hospital in Jerusalem.
  Rabbi Friedman has further enriched the spiritual lives of this 
congregants by guiding them through Israel on dozens of visits over the 
years. His own personal travels have taken him to Israel and Europe 
many times over. But he would be the first to say the true richness of 
his life comes from the joy and love of his family, his wife Adelaide, 
his daughter, Naomi, his 2 sons, Mark and David, and his 12 
grandchildren.
  Mrs. Adelaide Friedman has also greatly enriched the lives of those 
around her. With degrees in English literature, a bachelor's from Long 
Island University and a master's from Hofstra, Mrs. Friedman taught 
English literature at the high school level in girls' yeshivas. She 
herself has been writing all her life, poetry and short stories, as 
well as articles and book reviews. Mrs. Friedman wrote a regular, 
monthly column for the Jewish World several years ago and her book 
reviews have also appeared in Lifestyles magazine and the quarterly 
publication for the New York Board of Rabbis. She has had articles 
published on Jewish subjects in several magazines and periodicals, such 
as the Algemeiner Journal, a Yiddish newspaper.
  Mrs. Friedman taught adult education courses at Temple Hillel on 
Jewish literature and has given lectures on Jewish women in literature 
at the Hewlett-Woodmere Library. Her creative talents encompass art as 
well as writing. She loves to work with oils and pastels and the 
portraits and still-lifes she has painted hang on the wall of her home 
and her children's homes.
  But it is her role as a rebbitzen for 46 years that has presented 
truly great rewards. ``I loved being involved in something bigger than 
myself,'' said Mrs. Friedman. ``I loved the idea of connecting with 
Jewish events as they unrolled and being inspired by lectures and great 
personalities. It was a very exciting period in my life because I 
wasn't only a wife and a mother and eventually a grandmother, much as I 
enjoyed those roles--and still enjoy those roles, I was also part of 
what was transpiring among the Jewish people.''
  Before Rabbi and Mrs. Friedman came to North Woodmere, he served in 
Congregation Beth David in Lynbrook for 13 years as their rabbi. He had 
been ordained by the Jewish Institute of Religion in New York and had 
received a master of Hebrew literature degree and a BA degree from Long 
Island University.
  Temple Hillel will say goodbye to Rabbi Friedman this June with much 
reluctance. But the congregation knows he will continue to be nearby to 
offer his guidance and wisdom for years to come, as the rabbi emeritus 
of Temple Hillel. It is a guidance that has taken Temple Hillel to 
great heights. Said Rabbi Friedman, ``I feel, without any hesitation, 
that we have achieved stardom in the galaxy of Conservative 
Congregations in the New York Area, and even worldwide!''

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